We’ve talked about how many devices like mobiles and laptops are discarded after a year or two because they’re “slow”, or because there’s a new model out and you want to “keep up”. As a new laptop requires 190,000 litres of water to be made and typically produces 300 kg of CO2, and 160,000 are thrown away every day in the EU – we need to acknowledge a) how unsustainable this is and b) there is a way of avoiding this and… save you money! By buying pre-owned, you are significantly reducing CO2 generation, not to mention the increased mining of rare earth metals (lithium etc.) that these devices all need. What are your choices?
But an old device with slower CPU and RAM will always be slower than a new one! We agree that there may be a lower level of performance, and if you are a digital agency doing lots of 3D rendering, then this is likely to be an issue. But the vast majority of laptop users are NOT doing this! The slightly lower performance will typically produce a negligible difference.
Refurbished
There is the well-known concept of “refurbished” – which most of us know about. You may own a refurbished iPhone or laptop. There are lots of websites where you can view and buy second-hand models – which are cheaper – which is always an attractive option, no? The challenge is – how long do they last, and is the warranty that comes with it any good? Different suppliers treat their second-hand stock in different ways. And this market is not regulated: anyone can call themselves a refurbished IT supplier and have no repeatable refurbishment process at all!
Imagine for a moment you are a second-hand laptop company. You hoover up old devices by buying them online, in an auction or via suppliers you have a working relationship with. What is your process for reselling them? Do you test if they switch on and you can log in? Is that enough? Do you test them to see if all the features are working – for example the built-in webcam? Does the battery hold its charge and if so for how long? Do you test if all the keys on the keyboard work? And even if you do all of these, and repair any obvious issues, what warranty are you prepared to give the device?
Now imagine you, or your organisation, are in the market for some refurbished laptops. You see a model you like with a six-month warranty and buy it. You understand that it’s pre-owned and that it may look less than perfect – but as long as it works that’s fine. After 3 months, it dies. You then contact the company and refer to the warranty. They may want you to send it to them, and they may even repair it – but the consequence is you have no device and can’t work. Frustrating, right? Or they refund you so you can go and buy another one. You still can’t work!
Organisations wanting to be more sustainable have to balance their business requirements (reliable tech) with their financial budgets. The risk of reduced productivity along with wasted time re-sourcing second-hand models is, at the very least, off-putting!
Remanufactured
There is a British Standard (BSI 8887) which covers remanufactured machines (not just computers). The main concept is: “Remanufactured products must have a quality that is equal to or higher than the original product”.
Rather than buy up any and all old kit, IT remanufacturing businesses tend to only select a handful of very well-reviewed models. They buy these in bulk and focus on making them like new. Each unit is then disassembled, cleaned, and each component is tested and replaced if shown to be faulty. The keyboards are re-printed. The screens are blemish-free and have no dead pixels. And the battery is tested for charge length and lifespan. Once a rigorous, repeated testing process has been completed to ensure the device really is as good as new, it is ready to be sold.
To give a buyer greater assurance, an optional three-year enterprise warranty (next-day delivery of a replacement model) can be purchased. Why is this a good idea? Again, imagine your company wants to reduce its carbon footprint by buying pre-owned but has been burnt previously with dodgy second-hand tech that has ultimately cost MORE than buying a new one after the time lost trying to get it fixed. A cheaper, second-hand, remanufactured device with a three-year replacement guarantee that looks like and acts like new has to be at least considered.
ITGUYS works closely with remanufacturing companies and can help procure laptops for all our clients. If you would like to discuss this with us, please click here.
